First it took police in Thunder Bay more than an hour to respond to the 911 call. John "Jake" Raynard suffered 15 fractures to his cheekbone, a broken eye socket, a broken jaw and a broken upper palate when six to eight men surrounded him near a North Cumberland Street business. Then they dragged their heels over whether it was a hate crime despite all the evidence. His attackers, who yelled words like "faggot" and "vagina" at him, chased him into an alley. Raynard grabbed a brick for self-defence. It went black from there. Now they say it wasn't a hate crime...and they've charged Jake Raynard with assault. Jake Raynard, 30, is facing one assault charge and two charges of assault with a weapon. The weapon involved,Thunder Bay Police spokesman Chris Adams said, is a brick. Police chief Bob Herman said at a news conference Thursday that there is much speculation that the larger group targeted Raynard and two of his friends after they left the bar because the three are gay. However, investigations – including interviews with independent witnesses – have determined that it was not a hate crime. Isn't that great? Talk about beating up on the victim.
I guess the message is gays should not fight back against the thugs that threaten our lives. Like these two who almost killed a gay man earlier this week...
But my message is FORGET IT. Because when I see something like that I know that I could be next, or my lover, or my friends, or anyone.
And I know what kind of message gay bashings send out to gay kids.
The student union at Fanshawe College has approved a plan to hold self-defence classes for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students following two separate gay bashing incidents in London over the past few weeks.
So until police restrain or cage these violent homophobes that threaten our lives, what choice do we have but to defend ourselves? Any way we can. Gay people are a peaceful people.
But enough is enough is ENOUGH... ----------------------------------------------------------------- P.S. If you're on Facebook you can join Jake's support group here.
A week ago Jake Raynard was savagely beaten by a gang of gay bashers in Thunder Bay. The attack left him with 15 fractures to his cheekbone, a broken eye socket, a broken jaw and a broken upper palate. So a rally was organized in his honour. Jake wondered whether anyone would turn out. But boy did they ever...
Good for Jake. "I think all too often people that are victims of these crimes are ashamed and try to hide from their attackers and the community at large," said Raynard. "I think they probably try to hide from themselves as well…we can’t have an open dialogue about these kind of things and try to really heal and recover from them without talking about them." I'm still waiting for the police to arrest those responsible.
But at least the message has gone out; gay bashers are cowardly scum.
We are not afraid. And love beats hate any old day....
The other day I told you the story of Jake Raynard, a gay man who was savagely beaten by a gang of cowardly thugs in Thunder Bay. Well tonight I have a good news update. Jake is out of hospital and has an inspiring message for other victims of violent hate. This story isn’t just mine. I’m sure there’s many other people out there who have encountered a lot of the same problems that I have in my life, and have encountered hate-related crimes and a lot of discrimination based on that." "I would urge them to come forward and make their stories known and have it so we can start to heal as a community and start to move forward beyond this kind of hate." You know I have to admit something. If those cowards had done this to me.... His attackers, who yelled words like "faggot" and "vagina" at him, chased him into an alley. Raynard grabbed a brick for self-defence. It went black from there. Raynard awoke the next afternoon at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with a broken jaw, broken eye socket and broken upper patella. He underwent facial reconstruction surgery and had two metal plates, nine screws and a wire used to put him back together again. All I would be thinking is how I was going to track them down one by one and beat them bloody. Even if it took years. And of course, where the fuck were the police when I needed them? A source told tbnewswatch.com that it took about an hour for police to respond to the emergency call, placed by employees of the fast-food restaurant. But luckily for me there are people like Jake, and so many other gay people, to remind me that violence is not the answer, because we are better than the brutish, cowardly, gay bashers who hunt us like animals.
And because we are like that, out of something horrible can come something BEAUTIFUL. Like this:
Dave Ivany, director of Gender Issues Centre at Lakehead University said that since Raynard’s story has come out, more people are starting to tell their stories about dealing with homophobia in Thunder Bay.
Or this Facebook support group that was set up by a guy named Juan It has been agreed that this group will serve 2 purposes: 1. To support Jake, make him feel safe and welcome in his hometown, put a face to hate crime, and act on his behalf as he desires. 2. To stand together after this attack on our community and make public statements against hate crime, and to assert that WE define this community NOT the attackers.
Which is so right and so EXCELLENT.
Good for Juan. Good for Jake. Good for all the people who are coming forward to tell their stories. The cowardly bullies may attack us. I definitely need to be a better person.
But we're fighting for a kinder, gentler world for everyone. And we are not AFRAID...
